It's been a couple of weeks now since I did the Dietlicious Gluten Free Cleanse and I am still missing the delish breaky smoothies and tasty lunches and dinners. After a period of retoxing once more (isn't that why we detox?), I take a look back at the cleanse and what I got out of it.

What is the Dietlicious Cleanse?
This is a five or ten day detox using delicious, already-prepared, delivered food supplied frozen or fresh for you to whip up with ease and convenience. It's designed to help you revitalise, detox and lose weight with healthy, all-natural meals and is ideal for those who lead a busy, demanding life. The menu gives your digestive system a holiday from the effects of wheat, gluten, dairy,
red meat, preservatives, additives and highly processed foods.

What kind of food do you get?
I've done detox many times before using fresh, natural ingredients but it's always left me with a sense of deprivation - not to mention nearby malnutrition in some cases (the lemon detox diet springs to mind). To get detox really working for you, it needs to be less about glorifying the distant memory of a quarter-pounder with fries, and more about empowering yourself with tasty, balanced, nutritious food. This is exactly what the Dietlicious Cleanse offers. The packed lunches were mostly microwaved meals (making it super easy for work) and some of the dinners required a bit of minimal cooking in the pan or oven. You also get fruit and mixed nuts for between meals to make sure you don't think about cheating with the cookies from the kitchen at work.

Some of the meals include:

Provencal risotto with tuna

Thai red tofu curry

Ocean trout with vegetable ratatouille

Salmon chermoula with seasonal vegetables

Gluten free toast with hummus and tomato (breakfast)

Chicken cacciatore with quinoa

Microwaved? Did that taste ok?
Yes. It was YUMMY. The flavours in each meal were unreal and you can tell they've been prepared with care and skill by an ex michegan restaurant chef. Nuff said.

Salmon chermoula with season veggies

The difficulty factor
As far as surviving the cleanse goes, it's very, very easy. There's more than ample food and I'd be surprised if someone was left feeling hungry at the end of the each day or between meals. The hardest part is simply committing every single meal over five days to the cleanse. That being said, if you do need to cheat on the plan (I had a business lunch I needed to attend) simply opt for the healthier options of fish or chicken with salad or veg - no wheat, gluten, red meat and all the other things you're trying to give your bod a break from.

Chicken tagine with quinoa - nomtastic

What did I dig the most?
Not at any stage did I feel hungry, deprived, or as if I was actually on detox at all. The breakfast smoothies were very tasty and as someone who doesn't make a habit of eating "the most important meal of the day" grabbing a smoothie out of the fridge was quick and easy. I also liked how effortless the meals were, while also getting to do a bit of the cooking yourself. Loved the addition of lemon for hot water in the morning and ginger tea for the afternoon.

GF toast with hummus, tomato and hot lemon water mmm

The worst bits?
Besides the fact you can't have coffee, wine, red meat or sugar (it IS a cleanse), dedicating each meal to the cleanse was the hardest part.

All in all
At the end of the five days I did feel revitalised, detoxified and I'd even lost a bit of weight - which utterly surprised me given how much food it felt like I was eating. So maybe it's good for speeding up the metabolism, too. Initially I thought it might be a bit expensive but at around $9 a meal plus the snacks, it works out to be quite good, particularly given the level of quality and how convenient the plan is.

If you're looking to kick-start a new health regime or just do a cleanse to re-boot your system, the Dietlicious Cleanse is a great option.